Fire-protection signal system.



Nb. 828,047. 4 I PATENTED AUG; 7, 1906. J.E.SHEPHERD. FIRE PROTECTION SIGNAL SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 6,1904.

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UNITED smgns nn rnnr FFIOE.

"JOHN E. SHEPHERD, F OHICAGOQILLINOIS, ASSIGNORTO AUTOMATIC; FIRE PROTECTION COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MAINE;

FIFE-PROTECTION SIGNAL eve-rem.

are. 828,047.

Specification of Letters ZPatent.

Patented Aug. '7, 1906.

v '1 Application filed September 6, 1904. Serial Na 223,459,

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it knownthat I, JOHN E. SHEPHERD, of

Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Protection Signal Systems; and I hereby declare that the fol-' lowingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference :being had to the accompanying, drawings, which form part of this specification.

, My invention'relates to improvements in fire-protection signal systems, and has for a salient ob ect to provide means directly associated with an automatic valve of a fireextinguisher system adapted to'cooperatewith certain electrical devices for'causing the transmission of an alarmin a signal-circuit. 'when' the valveisopened for a predete'r-'.v

mined. time.

Other and further Objects of my invention may best be ascertained from the following description, taken in-conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a sectional view of an automatic valve and assoclated devices e'mbod' j ing my invention, showing diagrammatical y in suitable circuit relation devices constituting the electric-alarm circuit. I Fig. 2 is a fragmentary section of part of the valve,

Fig. 3 is a detail of the signal-b0x construcshowing the time-switch in end elevation.

tion.

Referring now to the -drawingalA indi-.

- cates the casing of an automatic variablepressure or check. valve of well-known construct1on,.1n Wh1ch (Us a movm member'or valve proper movable on a rig t hne from and toward its seat a and having its stem a.

guided in a suitable bearing a".

a,- dicates a promotion-from one side 0 the casing.

The valve construction illustrated is one well knownin the art and needs no detailed description. I do, not "intend, however, to

limit the use of my invention to such a valve, as it .will become apparent that it is'capable of use in con'unction with any automatic valvea partw ereof moves'in opposite dire'c-.

tions in opening and closing.

B indicates in general a time-switch mount ed within the valve-casing A and directl associated with the movable member a o the valve, arranged when normal or passive restricted passage 6.

condition ,to close an electric circuit and when moved by the action of the valve to abnormal or, active position tofirst break said circuit and subsequently afterthe lapse of a definite interval of thecircuit. e

thespecific construction shown the time-switch B comprises a frame b, pivoted,

as at b, to the projection axof the valve-casing and arranged to be maintamedby gravin constant contact with the top surface 0 t he valve member a. -Mounted upon the time to. again make frame I) is a device comprising two chambers b and connected for communication a The device described is preferably of glass and is adapted to constantly contain a body 11 of electrically-conductive mobile material, such as, mercury.

The parts are preferably so arranged that when the'valve a is in normal closed position and the time-switch B consequentl 1n its lowest position'substantially a l of t e mercury lies in the chamber bf; but when the valve a is raised-to dotted-line posltion and the frame bf is "thereby tipped the mercur runs into. the chamber 12 to substantially fill thesame. O t y Contact parts adapted for inclusion 1n electric circuits are as'sociatedwith the device to be affected by the flow of mercury, and in the specific construction two ears of contacts I) and s b are arranged wit the respectlve chambers b and b theico'ntacts I) being nor 1 mally electrically connected through the mercury and the contacts b 'be1ng normally open or disconnected. It be aparent now that when the switch is tipped to ottedline position the mercury ows from the chamber 6? to the chamber b through the restricted passage 1), so that in time connection between the contacts bis broken, and after the lapse of a definite interval of time connection is made between the contacts I). The contacts I) and b are connected in parallel in a circuit C, which includes a suitable source of electric supplyc and an electro ma etc'.- 1

-' he electromagnet c is arranged to"actuate the controlling mechanism of asuitabIe signal-box arranged inqa signaling-circuit, a

preferred arrangement ofsignaling devices eing shown in: Fig. 1-.

The signal box preferably comprises anor-l 'mally wound spring-motor, the motor-train Cslpring d and contact (P, and with the wheel are associated the pen d and contact d The controlling mechanism for the box may be of any suitable construction arranged for control y the electromagnet c and adapted to operate in substantially the man- I number-wheels d d scrib illustrated in ner of a construction which I. will now de- (1 indicates .a rotatin part driven by the motor-train and provi ed with an annular flange (2 having formed therein, at two different elevations or diametrically opposite points, the notches d and d. The rotating part (1 is preferably so geared relative to the that it makes one halfrevolution to each complete revolution of the said number-wheels.

The controlling device proper comprises, preferably, a pivoted lever e, to which is attached the armature e of electromagnet c, and provided at its end with two arms 6 and 0, each having thereon a finger adapted for engagement with one of the notches d or d of the rotatigg part tl of the motor. As

i .3, the arrangement is such that the finger o the arm e can only engage with the notch d and the finger of arm e can only engage with the notch'd". It follows that when the armaturev e is attracted byits mag net 0. the motor mechanism of the box will be held in inactive positionby' the en a ement of the finger e with the notch (1 the armature be released and retracted by its spring, the mechanism is free to make a halfrevolu ion until the notch d registers with the finger of arm e again sto ped. Durin the whee d the numh make one revolution. be' again attracted, the themselves to their initial position and the wheel d makes another half-revolution before the fin er of arm 6 again enga es with the notch and the number-whee s d and (1 make another revolution. It will be apparent that as the movements of the armature are controlled by the magnet c the operation of the box is responsive to the operation' of the magnet-controlling time-switch B. The signal-circuit may be arranged in any suitable manner, but I prefer that it be connected as follows: from a battery F, b wire 5, through two parallel branches to t e rethis half-rotation of er-wheels d and d parts tend to restore 'spective pens of-wthe wheels d 11 the one:

branch extending by wire 6 to the pen (1, from its contact by wires 7 to a contactback to the central battery mercury flows as heretofore descrlbed, breaking 4 .and then-the motor 1s (1, followed by- .through the obstructed f, owever,"

when the. mechanism is If, new, the armature .valve a is maintained in open point 8, with which the magnet-armature e contacts when the armature is "in attracted position, and from the pivot-point of said armature by wire 9, back to the main circuit. The other branch extends by wire 10 to pen d and contact (i and thence by "wire 11 to a point of juncture with the wire 9, whence the circuit extends by wire 12 to a suitable signalrecording device G and from the opposite terminal of said'signal-recoi'vder by wire 13,

The operation of the system described is as follows: When the automatic valve a is raised by the commencementof flow of the water through. its riser or other pipe, it acts directly upon the time-switch B to raise the same to the dotted-line om the chamber b to the chamber b, the circuit C at points I)", so that the magnet c is deenergized and its armature is retracted by the spring, thereby trippin the signalbox, as heretofore described. wheels (1 cl of the signal-box make one'round, stopped. It is' to be noted, 'however, that the movement of the armature breaks the branch of the circuit containing the pen'and contact d -and d at contact-point 8, so that a signal is transmitted-to central station only from the wheel d and the recorder G at the central station ac cordingly indicates the-number of the wheel a long dash of rundown. When now suflicient mercury has flowed passage 61* to effect connection between the points b,the magnetclrcuit C is again closed and the magnet-arma ture e attracted, again actuating thesignalbox, so that its number-wheels make one round, as heretofore described. During. this revolution of the number-wheels it is to be noted that both branches of the si aling' circuit are closed, so that each vwhee trans mits its numb er, and with the arrangementof iposition. Consequently the be number-- teeth shown in the drawin' s the slgnal-reeeived at central station wi l bathe number of the box thrice re sated. It will further be ap arent that s ould the valve. (1' "be 0 ene pressure in the pipe. containing the valvef-no and immediately closed, as by -a or sudden variation in the waterslgnal is transmitted, as the raising and lowermg of the time-switchB in rapid succession does not permit sufficient mercury to flow from one chamber restricted passage to cause the breaking :of the circuit at the point b; but in length of time the insures that the proper conditions. must inevitably occur in the magnet-circuit to actuate the si nal-box to transmit its proper'andfull signa to indicate the continued flow of Water in the piping system.

time-switc to the other throu lithe mo case the osition'for any arrangement I I claim a construction of the character dedirection to cause it to condition the alarm mechanism to operate and in the opposite direction whereby its normal condition is re- While I have herein described in some detail a specific construction and arrangement Q of signaling devices and other associated arts which I prefer to employ in the instalation and Operation of my system, it will be apparent that equivalent devices might be used without departing from the spirit and sco e of my invention, and I' do not desire to e understood as restricting myself to the s ecific construction and arrangement herein i1 ustratively shown further than as specified in the claims.

I do not claim as my invention, in combination with a valve or otherpart responsive to pressure in the fire-extinguisher system and with an electric alarm mechanism, a watertight chamber. into which the terminals of the alarm-circuit extend, located in the waterway or, more specifically, in said chamber for controlling the alarm mechanism, nor do scribed wherein the water-tight chamber is movable by the valve and contains as a circuit controlling means a shifting body, whether of mercury, other fluid, or matter in some other state, and, further, I do not claim as my invention the broad idea of associating. in combination a chamber, a fluid-body contained in the chamber and adapted to shift therein, an alarm mechanism operatively associated with said body, and means controlled by pressure in the system for shifting said body and causing it to condition the alarm mechanism to operate whether with or without retarding means for the shiftin body, nor a combination, as above describe whereby the shiftable body is shifted in one established.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. The combination with a valve of a fireextinguisher system, of means for indicating the flow of water through saidvalve com rising a signaling device, and a time-switc for controlling said signaling device, mounted within the valve-casing and arran edto be actuated directly by the movable e ement of the valve. 2. In combination-withe valve of a fireextinguisher system, means for indicating the flow of water through said valve com rising a signaling device, and a 'time-switc for controlling said signaling device mounted within the valve-casing, and associated with the movable element of the valve for actuation t ereby.

3. T e combination with an automatic valve of a fire-extinguishing system, of a signal device, a circuit therefor, a time-switch for controlling said signal device comprisin a frame pivoted within the valve-casing and associated directly with the valve pro er for movement therewith, a device carried y said frame comprising two chambers connected by a restricted passage,-contacts com risin part of the circuit aforesaid within e sai chamber, and a bod of mobile, electricallyconductive materia in said chambers arranged when said switch is moved to vary the'conditions of the electric circuit to actuate the signaling device. I

In testimony that I claimthe foregoing as my own I affix my signature-m presence of two witnesses. JOHN E. SHEPHERD. In presence of- GEO. T. MAY, Jn, MARY F. ALLEN. 

